President Obama, the reluctant warrior

Published: Sunday, November 10, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, November 8, 2013 at 3:10 p.m.

The effort to enact health care reform in the United States is a century old. It began with the Progressive Party platform of Theodore Roosevelt's unsuccessful quest for the presidency in 1912.

President Franklin Roosevelt considered adding comprehensive health insurance to his proposal for Social Security in 1935 but dropped it for fear that the adamant opposition of the American Medical Association might doom Social Security.

President Harry Truman tried and failed to achieve passage of the Murray-Wagner-Dingell health insurance bill after World War II.

President Lyndon Johnson made health insurance a top priority, and with the advantage of huge Democratic majorities in Congress he successfully passed Medicare and Medicaid.

In the early 1970s, Sen. Edward Kennedy attempted to build a bipartisan bridge between his national health insurance proposal and the one submitted by President Richard Nixon. But Kennedy's allies in organized labor would not countenance any bargain with Nixon, and Nixon would not agree to financing such a measure through payroll taxes. Watergate sealed the failure.

Although President Jimmy Carter proposed his own health insurance scheme, it was not embraced by the leading Democratic proponents of comprehensive reform in Congress. It went nowhere.

President Bill Clinton made health insurance reform a top priority, and he appointed first lady Hillary Clinton to lead the effort. The complexity of the bill she presented to a Congress controlled by Democrats doomed it.

Comes now Barack Obama, the man who made the enactment of health care reform the centerpiece of his 2008 campaign and his presidency.

One would think that after such a protracted and bitter struggle over the past century, the enactment of health care reform in 2010 would be cause for a genuine national sigh of relief and celebration. But whether you love Obamacare or hate it, you can't deny the fact that its passage and implementation have left the nation deeply and bitterly divided.

In 2007, Obama was on the verge of not accepting an invitation to speak at a health conference sponsored by Families USA, a progressive group. But, as Carrie Brown and Glenn Thrush reported on Politico.com about six weeks ago, “two aides, Robert Gibbs and Jon Favreau, hit on an idea that would make him appear more prepared and committed than he actually was at the moment. Why not just announce his intention to pass universal health care by the end of his first term?”

One of them said, “We needed something to say. I can't tell you how little thought was given to that thought other than it sounded good.”

Thus, Obama came to embrace the necessity for health care reform mainly by accident. It was a way to enable him to begin to compete with his rival for the nomination, Hillary Clinton, on an issue where she had an established, though tarnished, track record.

Furthermore, at that time there appeared to be no consequential downside to the fact that Obama was a novice on heath care. Not only did Hillary Clinton expect to win the nomination, so too did many in the Obama campaign. But, of course, it didn't work out that way!

Once inaugurated, President Obama chose to stand and deliver on health care over the objections of senior advisers. But Obama turned the job of writing the bill over to the Democrats on the Hill — an unforced error. He did not insist that the bill contain provisions, such as tort reform, that would have brought at least a modicum of Republicans on board, making the effort bipartisan — an unforced error.

He allowed the bill to become so grotesquely complex that he has never been able to explain it to the American people — an unforced error. He steadfastly continues to characterize the law as health care reform when in fact many of its central components, including the individual mandate and the exchanges, are the handiwork of the health insurance industry — an unforced error.

He presumed that the federal government was capable of implementing a law that was designed to make profound changes in the operation of a $2.5 trillion industry that makes up what soon will be 20 percent of the nation's gross domestic product — an unforced error. And, after having more than three years to design the Obamacare website, HHS Secretary Sebelius and her bureaucrats gave birth to what she now describes as a debacle — an unforced error.

Those unforced errors are more than enough to ruin a good idea. But there is more, and the more is more troubling.

When presidents lie and the American people tumble to it, look out! At least 24 times, President Obama told the nation, “If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away. No matter what.”

Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are now receiving cancellation letters. Their individual policies are being canceled so that the Obama administration can force younger, healthier Americans into Obamacare to prevent the program from imploding due to the influx of older, sicker persons.

Assuming that the president didn't know and intend that is preposterous.

The president and his sycophants are now trapped by their hubris, mendacity and incompetence. Obama has risked his legacy and more importantly the nation's well-being on a deeply flawed idea made immeasurably worse by its bungled implementation. It's what happens when you send a neophyte to do a man's job.

Today's column will be my last. The Shadow and I want to thank all of you who have been kind enough to send along words of encouragement and constructive criticism over the past two years.

<p>The effort to enact health care reform in the United States is a century old. It began with the Progressive Party platform of Theodore Roosevelt's unsuccessful quest for the presidency in 1912.</p><p>President Franklin Roosevelt considered adding comprehensive health insurance to his proposal for Social Security in 1935 but dropped it for fear that the adamant opposition of the American Medical Association might doom Social Security.</p><p>President Harry Truman tried and failed to achieve passage of the Murray-Wagner-Dingell health insurance bill after World War II.</p><p>President Lyndon Johnson made health insurance a top priority, and with the advantage of huge Democratic majorities in Congress he successfully passed Medicare and Medicaid.</p><p>In the early 1970s, Sen. Edward Kennedy attempted to build a bipartisan bridge between his national health insurance proposal and the one submitted by President Richard Nixon. But Kennedy's allies in organized labor would not countenance any bargain with Nixon, and Nixon would not agree to financing such a measure through payroll taxes. Watergate sealed the failure.</p><p>Although President Jimmy Carter proposed his own health insurance scheme, it was not embraced by the leading Democratic proponents of comprehensive reform in Congress. It went nowhere.</p><p>President Bill Clinton made health insurance reform a top priority, and he appointed first lady Hillary Clinton to lead the effort. The complexity of the bill she presented to a Congress controlled by Democrats doomed it.</p><p>Comes now Barack Obama, the man who made the enactment of health care reform the centerpiece of his 2008 campaign and his presidency.</p><p>One would think that after such a protracted and bitter struggle over the past century, the enactment of health care reform in 2010 would be cause for a genuine national sigh of relief and celebration. But whether you love Obamacare or hate it, you can't deny the fact that its passage and implementation have left the nation deeply and bitterly divided.</p><p>In 2007, Obama was on the verge of not accepting an invitation to speak at a health conference sponsored by Families USA, a progressive group. But, as Carrie Brown and Glenn Thrush reported on Politico.com about six weeks ago, “two aides, Robert Gibbs and Jon Favreau, hit on an idea that would make him appear more prepared and committed than he actually was at the moment. Why not just announce his intention to pass universal health care by the end of his first term?”</p><p>One of them said, “We needed something to say. I can't tell you how little thought was given to that thought other than it sounded good.”</p><p>Thus, Obama came to embrace the necessity for health care reform mainly by accident. It was a way to enable him to begin to compete with his rival for the nomination, Hillary Clinton, on an issue where she had an established, though tarnished, track record.</p><p>Furthermore, at that time there appeared to be no consequential downside to the fact that Obama was a novice on heath care. Not only did Hillary Clinton expect to win the nomination, so too did many in the Obama campaign. But, of course, it didn't work out that way!</p><p>Once inaugurated, President Obama chose to stand and deliver on health care over the objections of senior advisers. But Obama turned the job of writing the bill over to the Democrats on the Hill — an unforced error. He did not insist that the bill contain provisions, such as tort reform, that would have brought at least a modicum of Republicans on board, making the effort bipartisan — an unforced error.</p><p>He allowed the bill to become so grotesquely complex that he has never been able to explain it to the American people — an unforced error. He steadfastly continues to characterize the law as health care reform when in fact many of its central components, including the individual mandate and the exchanges, are the handiwork of the health insurance industry — an unforced error.</p><p>He presumed that the federal government was capable of implementing a law that was designed to make profound changes in the operation of a $2.5 trillion industry that makes up what soon will be 20 percent of the nation's gross domestic product — an unforced error. And, after having more than three years to design the Obamacare website, HHS Secretary Sebelius and her bureaucrats gave birth to what she now describes as a debacle — an unforced error.</p><p>Those unforced errors are more than enough to ruin a good idea. But there is more, and the more is more troubling.</p><p>When presidents lie and the American people tumble to it, look out! At least 24 times, President Obama told the nation, “If you like your health care plan, you'll be able to keep your health care plan, period. No one will take it away. No matter what.”</p><p>Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of Americans who are now receiving cancellation letters. Their individual policies are being canceled so that the Obama administration can force younger, healthier Americans into Obamacare to prevent the program from imploding due to the influx of older, sicker persons.</p><p>Assuming that the president didn't know and intend that is preposterous.</p><p>The president and his sycophants are now trapped by their hubris, mendacity and incompetence. Obama has risked his legacy and more importantly the nation's well-being on a deeply flawed idea made immeasurably worse by its bungled implementation. It's what happens when you send a neophyte to do a man's job.</p><p><i>Today's column will be my last. The Shadow and I want to thank all of you who have been kind enough to send along words of encouragement and constructive criticism over the past two years.</p>